Two days after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke opined that "conditions in financial markets are still far from normal," the Fed Chief got chatty once again. This time speaking at the Chicago Fed Bank's annual banking conference, Bernanke encouraged financial firms to continue to raise capital in order to not only aid the broader economy, but also position firms "to take advantage of new profit opportunities as conditions in the financial markets and economy improve."

Big Ben also stated that the Fed has "focused on the institutions in most need of improvement, but will continue to remind the stronger institutions of the need to remain vigilant, particularly in light of the ongoing fragility of market conditions."